D&D General Simple Rules for a Dark Sun Game

[squibbles]

Hi all,

Thank you kindly for the advice. I ran this one shot last Friday. I needn't have asked about the character creation or defiling rules rules; all the players used pregens I'd written, and nobody went with a defiling character... go figure.

OP, have you played with the 2024 rules before? Martial PCs are already significantly stronger, especially at low levels, and giving them +2 in every physical stat, plus max HP at level 2, will make them broken compared to other classes, plus will really screw with encounter balance.

Edit: for comparison, the barbarian capstone ability (level 20) is +4/+4 str/con, and you are proposing giving them almost as much at level 1.

I have indeed played with 2024 rules before.

I'm ideologically opposed to balanced encounters (not that you're wrong, it's just my preference). I had the players besieged in a fortress village being attacked by ~150 raiders, belgoi, and salt zombies led by a charismatic defiler. I gave them lots of tools to cope, one of which being very strong 4th level PCs.

The stats are a decent benefit on casters too, since everybody can use the Con mod, Dex mod, and HP--though, for the purposes of the one-shot, I was pretty ok with martials being strong.

Hi Squibbles,

Not sure if you've run this yet or not. (If you did, I hope it went well)
I don't have much to add about the player options, etc, I just wanted to mention as I didn't see anyone else mention it...
But, there's some Dark Sun monsters in the Spelljammer 5E campaign setting, which might save you some time if you planning to convert some monsters.

Thank you for the recommendation! I used Toucanbuzz's Monster Manual (much obliged to Toucanbuzz, incidentally). But I'll take a look at the Spelljammer stuff if I run another Dark Sun game.

D&D 5E (2014) Thread 'Dark Sun 5E Campaign Guide & Monster Manual (link)'

Feb 3, 2020

toucanbuzz submitted a new resource:

Dark Sun 5E Campaign Guide - Conversion of Dark Sun rules to 5E

A long-term project converting AD&D's Dark Sun to 5E, utilizing resources from 3rd edition resources (athas.org, Dragon magazine), innumerable homebrew projects, 4E material, and years of experience playing the setting. The goal was to preserve the 3 pillars of the setting: (1) unique and flavorful races, (2) psionics, and (3) defiling.

Read more about this resource...

• touc
• Replies: 28
• Forum: *Dungeons & Dragons

• 

Given the massively increased viability of Dex-based martial characters in recent editions, if you’re having heat penalties for armour in your DS game one unintended side effect is that you end up with all your martial PCs being willowy agile types rather than the muscular brawlers from Brom art and DSs sword and sorcery inspirations.

I had both! One barbarian with 18 AC from unarmored defense, one monk with 17 AC from unarmored defense, and one thri-kreen with 17 AC from the chameleon carapace.

Couple of suggested mitigations for this. First, ban the rapier. It’s a weapon that can only really be made in metal, and every other Dex weapon is statistically inferior (unless one of the weird Dark Sun weapons overtakes it, so don't let that happen). That shaves a bit of effectiveness off Dex martials.

Second, give all martial PCs the option of exchanging their heavy armour proficiency for a barbarian’s Unarmoured Defence ability. Let Athas be populated by the barechested, as nature intended.

Ya, I curated the weapon and armor lists; rapiers are not present.

This also didn't come up because of the players using pregens, but here's the full list for good measure. And, as mentioned above, I'm not super concerned with balance. Honestly, I was looking forward to some players bringing broken OP PCs created with these rules and wreaking havoc, since it's not a big deal in a one-shot.

Weapons:

• All edged weapons break, and become unusable, when an unmodified 1 is rolled for an Attack. If the weapon would still hit the target, it deals its normal damage for that attack before breaking.​
• Melee edged weapons made of iron roll a larger die for their damage, add +1 to their Attack rolls, and do not have a chance to break. Melee weapons made of bronze are just as rare and expensive as iron weapons and do not have a chance to break, but do not deal increased damage or have a bonus to their Attack rolls.​
• Ranged weapons that use ammunition made of metal do an extra +1 damage.​
• The following weapons are in common use in Darksun:​
  • Simple Melee Weapons​
    • Club​
    • Dagger—edged weapon​
      • Daggers made of iron deal 1d6 damage.​
    • Greatclub​
    • Handaxe—edged weapon​
      • Handaxes made with iron deal 1d8 damage.​
    • Javelin​
      • Iron tipped javelins deal +1 damage when thrown.​
    • Mace​
    • Quarterstaff​
    • Spear—edged weapon​
      • Spears made with iron spearheads deal 1d8 damage or 1d10 damage when used two-handed with the versatile property.​
  • Simple Ranged Weapons​
    • Dart​
      • Iron tipped darts deal +1 damage.​
    • Simple Bow (as Shortbow)​
      • Iron tipped arrows deal +1 damage.​
    • Sling​
  • Martial Melee Weapons​
    • Flail​
    • Lance—edged weapon​
      • Lances made with iron spearheads deal 1d12 damage.​
    • Longsword—edged weapon​
      • Longswords can only be made with iron, and are a rare and valuable high status weapon. They deal 1d10 damage or 2d6 damage when used two-handed with the versatile property.​
    • Maul​
    • Morningstar​
    • Pike—edged weapon​
      • Pikes made with iron spearheads deal 1d12 damage.​
    • Scimitar—edged weapon​
      • Scimitars can only be made with iron, and are a rare and valuable high status weapon. They deal 1d8 damage.​
    • Shortsword—edged weapon​
      • Shortswords can only be made with iron, and are a rare and valuable high status weapon. They deal 1d8 damage.​
    • War Pick—edged weapon​
      • War picks made with iron deal 1d10 damage or 1d12 damage when used two-handed with the versatile property.​
    • Whip​
  • Martial Ranged Weapons​
    • Blowgun​
    • Composite Bow (as Longbow)​
      • Iron tipped arrows deal +1 damage.​

I added the Chatkcha, Gythka, and Talid as well but seem to have misplaced the rules for them.

Armor:

• Some armor is widely available: Padded Armor, Leather Armor, Studded Leather, Hide Armor, Scale Mail (scale is constructed from bone chunks or animal scales), Shields.​
• Some armor is available using rare and expensive special materials like mekillot shell pieces: Breast Plate, Half Plate.​
• Heavy armor is simply not available.​

 

[nevin]

Given the massively increased viability of Dex-based martial characters in recent editions, if you’re having heat penalties for armour in your DS game one unintended side effect is that you end up with all your martial PCs being willowy agile types rather than the muscular brawlers from Brom art and DSs sword and sorcery inspirations.

Couple of suggested mitigations for this. First, ban the rapier. It’s a weapon that can only really be made in metal, and every other Dex weapon is statistically inferior (unless one of the weird Dark Sun weapons overtakes it, so don't let that happen). That shaves a bit of effectiveness off Dex martials.

Second, give all martial PCs the option of exchanging their heavy armour proficiency for a barbarian’s Unarmoured Defence ability. Let Athas be populated by the barechested, as nature intended.

I don't really see dex martials becoming more viable as a problem. In a world where armor and heat can kill you that seems to be normal. And the original fix for that was half giants and mules with high con scores. That works also

 

[Chaltab]

Honestly if I were just running a Dark Sun one-shot I would probably use A5E since it has the armor material rules by default and has a system for hybridizing ancestries to make Muls.

Though now that I think about it, I don't think A5E has an official Goliath/Half Giant.

Edit: I guess the Voidrunners Codex Axon heritage could work, just trade Fur Coat for something else.

 

[Micah Sweet]

Honestly if I were just running a Dark Sun one-shot I would probably use A5E since it has the armor material rules by default and has a system for hybridizing ancestries to make Muls.

Though now that I think about it, I don't think A5E has an official Goliath/Half Giant.

Edit: I guess the Voidrunners Codex Axon heritage could work, just trade Fur Coat for something else.

I have several options in my A5e 3pp/homebrew compilation that work for Goliath.

 

[ECMO3]

I am planning to run a Dark Sun one shot and am looking for advice on the rules I have written for it. I have no intention to start a longer campaign and will be GMing for players who do not know the setting well, if at all, so the rules changes from baseline 5e need to be pretty minimal. I know several folks out there have done something similar. I like Toucanbuzz's stuff a lot, but I also have my own ideas and goals, and would like to build on the D&D 5.5 rules and Psion UA.

Character Creation: *My intent is to make the iconic Dark Sun options available using existing 5.5 material, and to make PCs physically tougher overall.

Due to the fraught everyday struggle to survive in the blasted world of Darksun PCs are naturally tough:​

• Add +2 to Strength​
• Add +2 to Dexterity​
• Add +2 to Constitution​
• Use the maximum HP value for the first two levels​

Professions and society are entirely different in Darksun, PCs do not use backgrounds, instead:​

• Increase any ability score by 2 and a different one by 1, or increase any three ability scores by 1.​
• Gain proficiency in any two skills.​
• Gain proficiency in any one tool.​
• Gain a Wild Talent (using the Psion UA) instead of an origin feat.​

Some species are modified:​

• Elf—Elves may only choose the Wood Elf lineage. Elves can ignore one level of exhaustion. Elves may choose to gain proficiency in Sleight of Hand as part of their Keen Senses feature.​
• Halfling—Halflings may make a bite attack that, on a successful hit, deals damage equal to 1d4 plus Strength modifier.​
• Mul—Muls also have Advantage on saves against poison due to their dwarven heritage. They otherwise use the same species features as PHB 2024 orcs.​
• Thri-Kreen—available as per Astral Adventurer's Guide.​

Some classes are modified:​

• The Psion class is available.​
• Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, Wizards, Arcane Tricksters, and Eldritch Knights are Defiling (sub)classes and use the defiling rules below.​
• Druid wildshape options are restricted to animals that could plausibly be found in Dark Sun.​
• I'm considering removing Clerics, Paladins, and Rangers as an option. I know they were an option in 2e Dark Sun, but I don't think the 5e versions of them go well with the setting without my making a bunch of alterations that are gonna be too complicated.​

Defiling and Arcane Magic: *My intent is to make Defiling classes obviously stronger than other spellcasting classes, but make preserving a BIG limitation, so that it's always mechanically attractive to Defile. Defiling should be basically without consequence for an arcane caster who has chosen to embrace environmental destruction and social ostracism, but be a huge and persistent dilemma for a caster comitted to Preserving. The "I'm about to die so I'll defile just this once" problem should come up a lot.

Arcane magic in Darksun is both more potent and more destructive than it is in most D&D settings. Bards, Sorcerers, Warlocks, Wizards, Arcane Tricksters, and Eldritch Knights gain the following benefits and penalties when they cast arcane spells.​

• Arcane spells you cast have +2 to DC and +2 to Attack rolls. This applies to all spells regardless of which hit die option (see below) is used.​
• To cast a leveled arcane spell you need to spend a hit die in addition to a spell slot. You have three options for how you acquire this hit die.​

1. You can spend one of your own hit dice.​
2. You can steal the hit die from a large plant or patch of small plants, which instantly kills them and desiccates them into gray ash.​
3. You can attempt to steal the hit die from another living creature, dealing 1D8 necrotic damage to it. But, if you choose this option, the creature may make a Charisma save against your spell DC. And, if the save succeeds, the spell fails and you lose the spell slot.​

Option 1., spending your own hit dice, is called Preserving, it has no special consequences, except the expenditure of the hit die.​

​

Options 2. and 3. are called Defiling. If you Defile—even a single time—psychics and spell casters will be able to see it in your aura for the rest of your life. If you defile more than 10 times in a month, it will permanently change your appearance, blackening your sclera, forming a faint red haze around your body, gradually cracking open your skin to reveal dark scales.​

​

There are two exceptions to the defiling rules:​

• When a spell is cast as a ritual, it does not gain the benefits or suffer the penalties above.​
• Spells gained from species, Wild Talent, or other non-arcane-spellcasting features do not gain the benefits or suffer the penalties above.​

Addition: this one shot will be played with 4th level PCs, so this rule is not relevant, but spells of 4th level or higher would require expenditure of two hit dice, deal 2d8 necrotic damage when used with option 3., and require a tree or patch of large plants for option 2.​

Weapons and Armor: *I want the equipment list to communicate information about the setting; it's one of the simplest ways to do that. I know that prior editions of Dark Sun generally had swords and armor be constructed of special materials to get around Dark Sun's limitations on metal, but I think that's a huge waste of the metal is scarce premise. I DON'T want there to be normal longswords, but they're obsidian longswords, or normal plate armor, but it's braxat hide plate armor.

• All edged weapons break, and become unusable, when an unmodified 1 is rolled for an Attack. If the weapon would still hit the target, it deals its normal damage for that attack before breaking.​
• Melee edged weapons made of iron roll a larger die for their damage, add +1 to their Attack rolls, and do not have a chance to break. Melee weapons made of bronze are just as rare and expensive as iron weapons and do not have a chance to break, but do not deal increased damage or have a bonus to their Attack rolls.​
• Ranged weapons that use ammunition made of metal do an extra +1 damage.​
• Weapons that use a lot of metal, like Greatswords, Rapiers, and Longswords are rare or unavailable.​
• Some armor is widely available: Padded Armor, Leather Armor, Studded Leather, Hide Armor, Scale Mail (scale is constructed from bone chunks or animal scales), Shields.​
• Some armor is available using rare and expensive special materials like mekillot shell pieces: Breast Plate, Half Plate.​
• Heavy armor is simply not available.​

...and that's it. What are your thoughts? I'm happy to hear suggestions and ideas about how others have played Dark Sun in 5e, but I'd really appreciate feedback on these specific rules, especially the defiling rules. Are the defiling rules too punitive? I'd also appreciate feedback on the decision to ban or not ban Clerics, Paladins, and Rangers. Also, is even this amount of custom rules too much?

Thanks!

I am in a Darksun campaign right now. I think these rules work, we have a couple different ones. FWIW here are some of ours:
Sorcerers and Warlocks are NPC only
No Paladins at all
Most classes have limited subclasses available, including some homebrew subclasses


Halflings in our game do not have Hafliling Lucky, but they do have Halfling nimbleness and also get Fury of the Small from the 5E Goblin in Volos.

Heavy Armor is available as shells, but I don't think there is a Plate equivalent

Same rules on breaking bone and obsidian weapons. All metal weapons are extremely rare.

We allow normal spell casting and have defiling (below). The general populace does not like casters. Wizards and Bards have expertise in slight of hand and can conceal their casting with a successful check.

As an option casters can choose to defile which kills plant life (if there is plant life in the area). Defiling uses the metamagic rules but it is quite a bit more powerful in play as you don't have a limit on the number of uses, only that you can apply a maximum of half your level to a single spell (so a 6th level caster could do a metamagic costing up to 3 sorcery points).

The first time you defile you gain a defiler aura which never goes away and from here on you track permanent defiler aura level and current defiler points. Your defiler aura starts as 0 and your current defiler points increase every time you defile by however many sorcery points the metamagic costs. Both the aura and the points have downsides. As current points increase you have cumulative penalties. This starts with -2 penalty to Charisma and Wisdom checks (1 defiler point), -2 Constitution and make a con save or get 1 level of exhaustion when you roll initiative (11 defiler points), -4 penalty to CHA and Wisdom checks (21 defiler points), -4 Constitution (31 defiler points), transform to a zombie under DM control (41 defiler points).

You can purge all your defiler points with a long rest but this increases your permanent Defiler aura by half the amount of the points you purge. Your defiler aura is applied as a straight penalty to any save you make against a Preserver or a Druid spell or ability or some other preserver-oriented monsters. So purge 20 defiler points and you have a -10 on any save against preservers, Druids or similar.

We also have unique rules for water, long rests in the wasteland reduce exhaustion but do not give any other benifits (no spell slots, hit dice, LR recharge abilities etc).